Last year I fell in a pretty big slump that I was not sure I could get out of. I felt depressed, lonely and unsure. I put a lot of efforts into my sport and school. I spent most of my time only doing that and managing my relationships so that they were functional. Then one of my friends asked me to come over to paint. This seems like a simple request, but I was slightly shocked. Paint? Why would I paint, I am not good at that? I have not painted since high school art, and I was terrible. When I tried to explain this to them, their reply was, “You don’t have to be good at everything.” What a concept.
So I painted, I picked up my pencil more and wrote, I baked and bought new cookbooks. I sang and danced even though I have no rhythm. I started doing all the things I was bad at, or just not in my normal arsenal of activities. The most important part was that I was not doing them to get better at them, and I was not practicing. I was simply doing with no end goal in mind. And somehow, my slump passed. Days did not feel as hard and there was not as much pressure to be perfect in all aspects. I started having fun with my life again. I propose everyone starts to do more things they are bad at, and see how much better you get at everything else.
I love this! I’m definitely not a painter, but I came across some old paints my family had just lying around and decided to invite a friend so we could make some abstract art together. I figured doing abstract art would take away a lot of the pressure for the painting to be “good” and I was mostly correct. I don’t know if I’m necessarily proud of my final piece, but it was freeing to let myself just move the brushes however my hand felt like moving them. I totally agree with you that doing things you’re “bad” at can help you feel better in other aspects of your life. I think I’ll definitely try some more stuff!
I think this is such a cool post! I think having the ability to just dive into a task with no goal in mind, focusing all your attention into something that you aren’t good at, is an amazing quality to have. The fact that this brought you out from a hard time by taking your attention away from the rest of the world is incredible. This reminded me of how in Life, Animated, Owen focused all of his attention into drawing and storytelling as a way to focus on something that he has the ability to change but no one else can. Thanks for this post!
I think this is a great idea for me to try out. I also feel like I am beginning to get into a slump with my work and motivation. Maybe doing things just to do them or getting up and being active in a way I’ve never tried before would be helpful. I love the idea of not having to be good at something because I feel like everyone in today’s world is always so focused on being the best. Maybe we just need to ficus on being ourselves and everything will just fall into place. I apprieciate your post and I’m going to go out and try something new!